Tank:A103 T71E1
|History= thumb|200px|left|Detroit proposal piked front version Little is known on this unusual US tank because the T71 never actually made it out of the factory and onto the battlefields. It suffered the fate of many interesting vehicles that were thought up in the post-war era, when the US tank manufacturing industry was very rich in ideas but became increasingly poor in funding. Armed with the experience gained from the industry’s previous rapid expansion, the US engineers were looking to improve their entire line-up of light, medium and heavy tanks, and try out new and sometimes experimental designs on them. When some of those experiments didn’t turn out quite as everybody had hoped for, projects were quickly dropped, as in the case of the T71 that only existed in mock-up form and never actually saw the light of day. The few available records say that its development began in the early 50s when the US Ordnance Committee ordered a new light tank with very specific characteristics, aimed at replacing the T41E1 –which itself had already been the improved successor of an upgrade of the experimental light tank T37. Being the third generation of an experimental vehicle, the T71 was meant to continue the same bold nature by sporting a heavy 90mm calibre gun on a 20 ton light weight structure. Manufacturers such as the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant put forward their plans featuring an oscillating turret that would be able to handle the recoil of the cannon. This was a rather unusual technology that was only used in a couple of tanks worldwide. As the tank was meant to be carried airborne, its ultimate weight had to be reduced even further, which limited possible armament to a 76mm gun, but in turn enabled the use of an auto-loader. The designers had bet on quantity over quality, giving the tank an impressive firing rate (before the unavoidable drum reload of course) and an ammo rack capable of carrying up to 60 shells of different types. Light-weight and equipped with a decent AOI-628 engine in the rear hull for agile quickness, the engineers thought they had created a nimble scout and artillery support tank. However, they had forgotten an important aspect: the armour. Due to the imposed weight restrictions, the tank was covered in “paper-thin” 25 mm armour which failed to impress the Ordnance Committee. Ultimately its performance just did not live up to the necessities of changing warfare of its time. The project was scrapped in 1953 with nothing but a wooden model to show for it. |HistoricalGallery= image:Detroit_proposal_side_view.jpg Detroit proposal side view image:Detroit_proposal_piked_front_version.jpg Detroit proposal piked front version image:Detroit_proposal_rear_view.jpg Detroit proposal rear view image:T71_wooden_model_proposed_by_Detroit_Arsenal.png T71 wooden model proposed by Detroit Arsenal image:T71_drawingl_proposed_by_Cadillac.png T71 drawingl proposed by Cadillac image:T71_by_Detroit_Arsenal_isometric_view.jpg T71 by Detroit Arsenal isometric view |HistAcc= The T71 only existed as a wooden mockup, of which no historical records of its armor or performance specifications exist. |Ref_references= These two volumes are widely regarded as the definitive reference works on the American Light Tanks. Volume-1 covers the real life counterparts of the in-game light tanks: T1, T2/M2, M3, and M5 series and the T21 and the M24. Volume-2 covers the T-71. * Hunnicutt, R.P, 1992, Stuart: A History of the American Light Tank - Volume-1, Presidio Press, 508p, ISBN:0891414622. * Hunnicutt, R.P., 1995, Sheridan: A History of the American Light Tank - Volume 2, Presidio Press, 340p, ISBN:9780891415701. |Ref_sources= |Ref_links= http://ftr-wot.blogspot.com/2013_04_08_archive.html Post WW2 Prototype Light Tank T71 }} Category:USA Tanks